InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ That Which Shines Brightest ❯ 03: Destati: The Awakening ( Chapter 3 )

That Which Shines Brightest

 

Chapter Three

 

 

The sun was setting low on the horizon as Yukino Suketsune shifted the backpack containing her school books, and she passed beneath the red and black arch of the torii that led to her family's shrine. Her attention never strayed to the pillars that signified the end of the secular world and the beginning of the spiritual one. Instead they were drawn to the darkened windows of her home and her footsteps briefly slowed as she heaved a morose sigh. She would have liked to have gone inside the house, but she continued onward toward the main sanctuary of the shrine itself. The windows here were dark as well, and her spirits lowered even more.

So Shirogane had already left for his dinner meeting with Kagome and Hojo-san.

But what had she'd expected, she asked herself a trifle scornfully.

That all of her brooding, a pouting would, in the end, make him change his mind?

She should have known from the very beginning that she would be unable to talk her beloved step-brother out of it. Hadn't she learned from years of experience that once Shirogane got an idea into his head, nothing anyone could say or do would dislodge it? And it wasn't as if she hadn't tried.

Because she had.

She had argued with him until she was blue in the face when she'd found out that he'd hired the Matsuda Architectural firm to renovate their shrine just so he could meet Kagome Higurashi.

“Why all of a sudden now?” she miserably recalled asking.

“Because it's time for a change,” he'd stated calmly that day as he sipped his morning tea, his long, elegant fingers idly turning the tea cup in his hands.

“But you can't!” she'd informed him, her fingers tightening into fists around the napkin in her lap beneath the table. “It's not right! You should stay as far away from her as possible!” Yukino had declared, bright red strands of hair swaying into her eyes as she pounded the table emphatically.

At her small explosion of temper Shirogane had looked up, giving her a disapproving look, the morning light coming through the kitchen window catching in his amber eyes and turning them to gold.

“Why?” he'd asked in a reasonable voice that mirrored none of the censure on his countenance, and that had only made Yukino angrier. His patient tolerance of her outburst felt too much like that of a parent trying to pacify a child.

“You know perfectly well why, Shiro,” she had ground out, “or have you forgotten why your family shrine was built in the first place?”

“No, Yukino,” Shirogane had sighed wearily, “I have not forgotten why our shrine was built.” He'd gotten up from his chair then and deposited his dishes in the sink, quickly washing them. “I've admired her for a long time, you know - she attended the same University as I. But I never felt it was the right time to approach her. -- I want to know more of what she's like as a person. Haven't you, yourself, ever wondered what she's like?” he'd wanted to know softly, turning to throw a glance at her over his shoulder, the long silver tendrils of hair hanging down his forehead casting shadows into his eyes, making them inscrutable. “Haven't you ever wanted to know someone who has lived in both the past and present? To talk with the one who is responsible for the Suketsune's existence?”

Yukino had remained silent until his last question, but then she had flared up at him. “That girl is not responsible for your family's existence! She is no relation to you whatsoever!”

“You're wrong, Yukino,” Shirogane had firmly disagreed. “She may not be related to us by blood, but she has everything to do with our existence. Frankly, I don't understand this animosity that you have towards her.”

“I don't harbor any animosity towards her,” Yukino had retorted, trying to rein in her temper to prove what she was saying, “only your desire to meet her. It dishonors the woman who brought life to your family!”

“If Kagome had not crossed back in time, then there wouldn't have been a woman to give life to our family, Yukino,” he had pointed out, a little exasperated by his baby sister's insistence, although he tried not to show it.

He strolled over to stand by her chair and took her chin softly between his fingers, his touch warming her skin until it tingled. “Don't ever forget you're a part of this family too.” He told her affectionately, lightly squeezing her chin before releasing it. The warmth was completely doused at his next words however. “And meeting Kagome does not dishonor our family. On the contrary, it is an honor for us to have the opportunity to meet her.”

Yukino had seen the stubborn set of her brother's jaw and the way his eyes dismissively dropped away when she opened her mouth to continue to argue with him, and she knew that no matter what she had said, he was not going to relent in his decision.

It had made her uneasy. She'd realized then that to him this was more than just a meeting; he was planning something more, something that he'd no intention of telling her about. She had risen to her feet then to stare defiantly at his back, the napkin still clenched in her right hand by her side.

She barely came up to his shoulder, another disadvantage for her - why should he treat her opinions as those of an adult if in his mind she still just ranked as a kid?

“Go and meet her if you like,” she tightly told the long, thick braid trailing down to his waist, “but I refuse to have anything to do with her!”

Shirogane had slowly turned, tucking his hands into the pocket of his slacks in a casual pose that had made her want to hit him.

“I'm afraid that's not possible,” he'd informed her, looking down into her wild blue eyes, still seemingly unaffected by her temper. “I specifically requested that she be the one to do the sketches since she is known to be one of the best in her field. She will be here tomorrow. I have to go to Kamakura to purchase some new things for the inner sanctuary, so I won't be here to escort her around and show her what changes I want made. I'm counting on you to do that for me, Yuki.”

Yukino remembered how she'd begun to shake then, from the sheer desire of wanting to throw herself at him and pummel him in the chest, just to elicit some kind of emotion on his face other than the calm mask he had refused to abandon.

She'd refrained however, instead choosing to continue her tirade.

“If you're not going to be here to meet her, then why the heck are you even having her come here? “ she'd railed in frustration, tearing at the cloth napkin still clutched between her fingers.

“I will meet her when I come back from Kamakura,” he had assured her mildly. His eyes had slid to her hands where she was forcefully strangling her napkin, but still, he remained cool and composed.

“Then you can just wait until you come back from Kamakura to start the process,” Yukino had, finally throwing her victimized napkin on the table and turning away from him, saying, “I told you - I want no part in this!”

Shirogane had seized her by the shoulder then to keep her from leaving the room as she had anticipated.

“You will be a part of this, Yuki” he'd ordered her sternly for the first time, the mask slipping, finally showing his displeasure, his amber eyes glinting coldly at her and his mouth pulled into a tight line.

“For too long this family has harbored anger and resentment against a great miko that helped to defeat the power of the Shikon no Tama. It's time to put all that aside.”

“You seem to conveniently forget, onii-chan, that that `miko', as you call her, is also one of the ones that is responsible for the horrible burden that your family bears,-“ his fingers had tightened on her shoulder and she'd hastily amended her words “our family bears - the burden with which I am now charged with carrying!”

“It's a burden that I will not have you carry anymore, Yuki,” he'd informed quietly, his beautiful eyes becoming melancholy. “It was a burden that was never meant to be yours in the first place.”

As the echo of his words rang through her mind, Yukino cringed anew, remembering the look of guilt and remorse on Shirogane's face. Her words had been responsible for that look, and if she could take them back she would. She'd spoken out jealousy, not wanting him to pursue Kagome, but unfortunately she did carry the burden of the family's secret. And it terrified her: what lay hidden within the innermost chamber of their family shrine, and she knew that Shiro blamed himself for her fear.

Ever since their parent's had passed away, he'd always said, “I'll protect you.”, and in more ways than one, she'd come to depend on that.

Shiro had always been there for her. He had done everything in his power to teach her the purification rites that were necessary for the inner sanctuary, showing her how to use the haraigushi wand, and helping her to learn the prayers that were necessary for maintaining the barrier inside the inner sanctuary.

And he always tried to be there when she performed the rites too because he knew how strong the evil aura, the youki, could get, and how the whispers called to those who would listen. By the time the ritual was complete, she was always left shaken and terrified. And for some reason, he thought this was because she was afraid that he would not be strong enough to protect her from those that sought the power of the secret that the Suketsune's had guarded so closely for five hundred years, should they come, drawn by the whispers that filled the inner shrine. But that was not it at all.

It was the secret itself that Yukino feared, knowing that her powers as a miko were not strong enough to hold back the youki if other dark forces were to reach out and touch it. Should the youki be exposed to even more energy, then she would not be able to stop the seed of evil they guarded from blooming once again.

But it was too late to take her words back now. The damage had been done, and their conversation had ended abruptly after that, with Shiro telling her in a quiet but determined way that, like it or not, Kagome was coming.

Yukino had avoided her brother for the rest of the day after that, simply as a means to continue silently protesting her brother's stubborn decision, but it hadn't changed anything. He'd gone to Kamakura the next morning and Yukino had shown Kagome around the shrine's compound. He'd only been gone that one day, but, for some reason, even after that, he'd always made an excuse to be absent during the times when he knew that Kagome was coming to see the shrine.

At first, Yukino had been perplexed. After all, hadn't this entire project been undertaken with the sole purpose of meeting his precious Kagome? But then, as the changes in the proofs began to shape up, Shirogane idly mentioned making some changes in their home as well, and with a sinking heart, Yukino had finally begun to put it all together.

Shirogane didn't want to meet Kagome until the plans were finished because he was preparing the shrine for her: he wanted Kagome to become the miko that would guard their family's secret. He was planning to make Kagome, the woman who could purify the Shikon no Tama, his wife.

At first she hadn't wanted to believe it. After their parents had died and as she'd gotten older, she'd decided she wanted to be the one to occupy that place in Shirogane's life. But the more she thought about it, the more she'd realized the reality of what was happening couldn't be denied.

Although he'd done every thing he could to teach Yukino, she'd hardly had the proper training as a miko. Even her own mother had not been very successful at filling that position. Shirogane's real mother had been the true miko of the Suketsune shrine and when she had passed away, Shiro's father had been bereft.

The temple had fallen into disrepair for seven years, and then when Mr. Suketsune seemed to regain his purpose in life, he married Yukino's mother. Yukino had only been seven at the time; Shirogane seventeen. Yukino's mother had had no formal training as a miko either, but she'd dutifully taken over the chores as miko. It had been extraordinarily hard on her. Those seven long years of neglect seemed to have allowed the youki around the family's secret to grow, and Yukino watched a change begin to take place in her mother as she'd tried to purify the ever present youki.

She became withdrawn and easily startled, as if she was afraid someone was constantly watching her. Then, when Yukino turned twelve, both her mother and Shirogane's father were killed in a car accident returning home from a much needed vacation. It had been devastating.

From that moment on, Shiro had taken on the role of sibling, parent and priest; teasing her, protecting her, guiding her and loving her -- just not with the love that Yukino now craved the most.

But she'd been able to be content, for they were always together; and that had been enough, because in her naiveté, she'd thought they would continue that way. Just the two of them. At least that was the way she'd wanted it, she thought miserably. And she knew that as long as he was there, watching over her, supporting her, she could do it. She could be the miko for the shrine. But he must have no faith in her skills, for he was making other plans.

Plans that included Kagome Higurashi, Yukino mused moodily as she paused to insert the key into the shrine door - the woman whom Shirogane was on his way to have a dinner with this very minute. And then another unpleasant thought hit her making her feel even worse. Since Shirogane was gone, that meant Yukino would have to perform her purification ritual alone and at night too; something that always felt left her feeling even more rattled and nervous than usual.

Stifling a moan, she turned the knob, pausing when a low rough voice called out from behind her, a chill creeping up her spine when she recognized it.

“Hello, Sweet Yukino. I've been waiting for you to come home.”

Yukino's head jerked around, her light blue eyes filling with fear when she saw the tall figure of a man with dark hair emerge from the side of the shrine along with another man with lighter hair.

“L-lokki,” she breathed, a horrible coldness filtering through her veins, the same coldness that filled her every time she saw him on her way to and from school.

He and his gang of degenerate friends hung out near her campus and usually shouted insults and suggestive comments to any and all of the students that they could get a rise out of. They considered it a supreme form of entertainment, whereas Yukino and her friends had just considered it lame.

One of her friends had said as much within earshot of Lokki once, and since that time, he had made it a point of singling her and her friends out. And then one rainy afternoon, when she had been without her friends, he'd caught her alone.

Up until that day, he'd been just a nuisance, but that afternoon when he'd actually gotten close to her, she'd become dizzy, overwhelmed by a sense of inner darkness that dwelled within his eyes. He'd actually tried to embrace her, but she'd screamed, and pushed him away.

Her reaction had startled him, and she'd managed to get away from him, running for all she was worth. But from that moment on, she'd been afraid of him, and he'd known it, which made him pursue her all the more, delighting in watching her squirm in terror to try and escape.

And now, here he was, at her home.

How did he find out where I live? she thought in a panic.

Well she wasn't going to stay to find out. Dropping her backpack to the ground she hurriedly stepped through the door, turning to slam it shut and bolt it in place. Before she could accomplish her goal however, a large hand shot through, keeping it wedged it open.

“No!” she cried in a small voice, “go away!”

Her breath was coming out in small gasps, and she leaned against the door, the only thing separating her from her terror, using all her weight to try and keep Lokki out. But it was useless; her feet were sliding against the gleaming wooden floor, her slight frame no match for Lokki's strong build as he easily pushed her back, moving the door slowly but steadily forward on its hinges.

With a sob, Yukino fell back, turning to retreat, and she heard a harsh chuckle as the door behind her crashed loudly against the wall.

“Where are you going, Yukino?” Lokki called in a sly taunting voice, the echo of it following her across the polished wooden floor as her feet skittered precariously on the boards, carrying her towards the back of the shrine and the door leading to the inner sanctuary. “I've noticed that you've begun taking a different way to school and don't pass by me anymore, so I thought I would come and see you instead. Did you think I wouldn't notice, Yukino?” he taunted, “I've missed seeing your pretty face when it's just you, all alone, and you're not with your friends… Come on now, aren't you happy to see me too?”

His mocking question hung in the air and she could hear the heavy thud the soles of his shoes made against the floor as he pounded after her, intent on catching her before she hid herself behind another door.

Hurry, Hurry, HURRY! Yukino's brain screamed, her hand fumbling with the latch to the inner sanctuary.

Jerking the door open, she rushed inside. She just managed to get it closed, but her shaking hands weren't quick enough to lock it before the latch was being lifted and the door roughly pushed open. Yukino fell back again, feeling like a trapped animal as Lokki made his entrance.

His wide shoulders filled the doorway and he stopped for a moment, leaning in a negligent pose as he looked across the room. He was attractive in a dark, menacing way, dressed in jeans, heavy black shoes, and a white t-shirt over which he wore his usual high-necked, black leather jacket with its many straps and metallic buckles. His hair was cut short, brushed back from his wide forehead, and its obsidian blackness blended with the dark, coal color of his eyes that glinted with a cold light as he trained them on Yukino.

Everything about him personified the darkness she could feel swirling inside him and she turned away from him, standing with one shoulder to the wall in a defensive position. His wide mouth curved into a cruel smile as he watched her cower away from him, and he laughed softly.

“Hmm,” Lokki meditatively rubbed his chin, “I guess I shouldn't have brought you along with me, Hiroya,” he threw over his shoulder, and Yukino's eyes followed his movement, seeing the bored face of the young man with the light hair from outside standing a few feet behind Lokki. “I think she's afraid of you,” he murmured in amusement, his gaze swinging back to look at her, and it was very clear from the look in his eyes that, just as she'd suspected, he knew very well who it was that Yukino feared.

“You'd better leave.” Yukino tried to speak strongly, mustering up as much bravado as she could, but her voice still quavered all the same. “My brother will be home any minute now -“

“I seriously doubt that,” Lokki laughed skeptically, pushing away from the door and sauntering over to her. “You see, I was here when he left, Sweetness, and he looked like he was dressed for a very important occasion. I'm guessing that he will be gone until well after midnight, which gives me - “ he stopped in front of Yukino and raised his hand, running the back of it suggestively down her cheek, “—plenty of time to get to know you better.”

Fighting the urge to flinch, Yukino raised her light blue eyes to his darker ones, and surprised herself by saying in a tight voice, “Go to hell.”

Lokki's eyes widened in momentary surprise, but then he smiled his sly smile and leaned his hands against the wall on either side of her, effectively trapping her. “I like it when you talk rough like that,” he murmured silkily, “say something else. Call me a bastard,” he whispered suggestively, “I know that will really turn me on.” He ran his thumb along her bottom lip, his smile widening when he felt her tense. “Come on,” he cajoled mockingly, “aren't you going to say anything?”

Yukino remained mute, feeling a cold trickle of sweat beginning to form on her brow as she kept her eyes fixed on the pure white color of his t-shirt, trying not to drown in the youki that pervaded the room and the darkness that was emanating from Lokki as well.

“You know, I'm beginning to think that you don't like me, Sweetness,” he observed, and his hands moved from the wall to grip her shoulders. “But you should give me a chance to get closer to you. I can show you things you never even dreamed about doing; make you feel things that will set your body on fire. We can have a lot of fun together, Sweetness.” He pulled her up against his chest, one of his hands clamping around her thigh and lewdly pulling her against his groin.

Yukino's hands shot out and she pushed against his chest. “Stop it! Let me go, you bastard!”

“Yes, that's it!” Lokki declared triumphantly, pushing her roughly against the wall with the weight of his body.

Yukino whimpered in pain as the back of her head smacked into the wall, but the sound was smothered when Lokki swooped down on her, his lips locking with hers, forcing her mouth open so he could invade it with his tongue. Yukino could feel the bile rising in the back of her throat, her hands flailing against his chest to no avail. He wasn't even holding her now. He was using his body to keep her wedged into place against the wall and his hands started to slide over her, trailing down her sides to her inner thighs, trying to force them open.

Desperate now, Yukino reached up and raked her fingernails down the sides of his face and with a string of obscenities he reared back.

“You bitch!”

Yukino didn't even have time to raise her hands in defense before he retaliated. His violent slap caught her full across the right side of her face and sent her head snapping sideways. The metallic buckles at his wrist followed the motion of his swing and cut into the soft flesh at the corner of her mouth. A salty taste filled her mouth and she felt a warm trickle down her chin.

Lokki raised his hand and touched the abraded skin of his cheek, looking at the blood on his fingertips before his violent gaze went back to Yukino. “So you want it rough?” he asked, stepping closer and jerking her chin upwards so he could press his fingers painfully against the bloodied tear in her lip. “I can make it as rough as you want it,” he promised her ominously.

Grabbing her arms in a painful grasp, he dragged her towards him and Yukino looked at Hiroya, who was leaning dispassionately against the shrine's altar.

“Please -“ Yukino breathed, her eyes beseeching Hiroya to intervene, “—please don't let him do this!”

“He's not going to help you, Sweetness.” Lokki's laughter was harsh and derisive. “After I'm done with you, he's hoping it will be his turn. Only thing is, you're mine!”

“No!” Yukino cried, still resisting and went crashing back into the wall when Lokki suddenly let go of her.

“What did you just say?” Lokki demanded sharply, spinning abruptly towards Hiroya.

Hiroya gave Lokki a puzzled look and shrugged his shoulders. “I dunno what you mean. I didn't say anything.”

Lokki's eyes narrowed, but after a few brief seconds, his focus shifted away from Hiroya to the altar that was behind him..

“What is that?” Lokki asked in fascination, completely forgetting about Yukino and moving towards Hiroya.

Hiroya idly turned to look over his shoulder and then quickly straightened. “I -dunno .” he stuttered in amazement, looking at the round opalescent gemstone that was placed upon a small stand. It was glowing brightly, a dark halo encircling it as if all positive light and energy surrounding it was being reflected away, leaving nothing but a void of emptiness around it that was waiting to be filled.

“It didn't look like that a minute ago,” Hiroya remarked.

Hiroya tentatively reached out his hand only to jerk it back in surprise as Yukino shrieked, “NO! You mustn't touch it!”

Yukino clambered clumsily to her feet and staggered in the direction of the altar, but she was already too late. Lokki was pushing Hiroya to the side and mumbling, “Can you hear that? It sounds like someone whispering.”

“Oh god, no! Stop!” Yukino moaned, her hand outstretched to try and grab the amulet before Lokki could take it.

Her hands snagged the Maiden's Prayer beads attached to the Tama, but she was unable to pull it away before Lokki's blood-stained fingers wrapped around the opalescent sphere and he jerked at it, breaking the jewel free from the beads

“Oh no!” Yukino gasped as she watched the swirling clouds of color erupt inside the gem. “You must let go!” she cried frantically dropping the beads to the altar and lunging forward, knocking over the stand on which it had be sitting as she tried to grab it free. “You're corrupting it!”

Lokki laughed at her, a high twisted laugh, and easily evaded her grasp, his dark eyes beginning to burn with a strange light as he watched the erupting colors inside the jewel. There was a strange cracking sound and then a thin trickle of color began to leak outward from the jewel.

“H-hey,” Hiroya said with a note of panic in his voice, as he looked around the room, “what's going on here?”

The air inside the room had begun to pulse with a strange purplish light, swirling around them, becoming heavy and oppressive. The whispers had become very loud now, and Yukino put her hands to her ears, terrified to listen to what they were saying.

“Onii-chan!” she cried, calling for her brother, desperately wishing he would appear.

“Incredible!” Lokki laughed exultantly, as he stared at the treasure in his hand, “but let's see if we can make it glow even brighter!”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a switchblade. With a deft motion, he released the blade and turned to look purposefully at Yukino.

Immediately she shrank away from him, her gaze flitting to Hiroya before returning to the crazed man holding the swirling colored gem.

“Run!” she urged Hiroya as he stood gaping at Lokki.

She stumbled back a few paces as she felt her way along the altar table, aware that even though Lokki had yet to take a step towards her, he was still looking at her with predatory eyes.

“Aren't you going to run too, Sweetness?” he asked, the purple colors of the vortex transforming his countenance into something demonic.

“You must return it to me,” she entreated, strands of crimson hair whipped wildly into her eyes by the force of the wind in the room. Mustering every ounce of courage left in her body, she extended her hand, noticing how badly it shook as she did so. “Please give it back, Lokki, before it destroys you.”

A slow, hard smile spread across his face and he began to laugh again, the sound of it so loud that for a few seconds it blocked out the urgent whispering. But then it ended abruptly, and his face was wiped clean of all expression, save that dark sinister light that still burned so malignantly in his eyes.

“He should have listened to you, Sweetness,” he murmured with a meaningful look that was completely lost on her. He lunged forward; a feigned attack, and she shrieked, pulling her hand back, shielding her body with her arms to watch him swerve away and head for Hiroya instead.

“Hey, what -- !? What are you doin' man?” cried Hiroya in alarm as the knife came slashing at him with deadly precision. He dodged the first blow, but the second blow slashed into his arm, ripping it open, darkening the silver blade with his blood, and the air in the room pulsed hard with a shockwave.

“Lokki!” Hiroya cried trying to parry his friend's frenzied attacks, “have you gone mad?”

“Not at all,” Lokki replied with ease, smiling at the terror in his friend's face, “I need your blood for this jewel, Hiroya, so stand still.”

They continued to struggle together, the blood from Hiroya's wound getting spattered everywhere, further defiling the shrine and fueling the corruption of the jewel. Yukino watched them, and after a few seconds realized that Lokki wasn't paying any attention to her. It was her only chance. Her terrified eyes drifted towards the jewel in his hand, the small tendril of energy leaking from it, spiraling up Lokki's arm like a spiritual viper coiling around its victim. Could she get it away from him? Should she try? If she could, how far could she get before he caught her? she wondered.

Perhaps this was why Shirogane had decided to pursue Kagome - because Yukino did not have the strength to stand and take back what belonged to his family. Kagome had faced Naraku with her friends and defeated him, and yet here she stood, afraid to try and steal back the Kinmotsu no Tama - the Forbidden Soul -the Suketsune's family secret from the hands of a rowdy, delinquent human.

She would not dishonor her brother in such a way. Not after all he had done for her. For her brother, she would try. Yukino took a wobbly step forward. It was really her only option for she knew she couldn't let Lokki leave the temple with it. Taking a deep breath, she dodged forward making a quick snatch and couldn't believe how easily the Tama slid into her hands. But as she turned, she too grappled to hang onto it, realizing it was slippery - covered in the blood of Hiroya and Lokki, and some of her own blood as well. No wonder it had slipped so easily from his fingers!

She didn't have time to stop and rub it clean on her shirt, however. Lokki was already trying to disentangle himself from his brawl with Hiroya, throwing the light-haired youth back up against the shrine altar and shouting at Yukino to stop.

Yukino's fingers tightened around the Tama, and she could feel the youki sliding unpleasantly up the sleeve of her shirt the same way it had on Lokki. She heard the whispers too. This time, they weren't just around her but they were inside her head as well, trying to cloud her mind, and slow her steps, but she resisted. The youki was now beginning to burn through her sleeve and into her flesh as it curled around her the more she fought against its drugging insistence.

Stop. Rest. It will be easier for you now if you stop. I can make it easier for you if you stop. He is going to catch you anyway, the whispers seemed to cajole.

But Yukino didn't stop, and the youki continued to burn, wending its way up her arm towards her neck as it tried to gain a hold over her.

All she wanted to do was get away, find a way out of this nightmare. Darting a look over her shoulder, she ran as fast as she could through the shrine, jumping over her discarded school backpack, heading toward the torii gate and the street below.

If she could reach the street, then maybe she could call for help. But already she could hear Lokki's footfalls catching up with her. She'd barely reached the top and of the stairs when she felt him from behind. He put his hand in the middle of her back and shoved hard, sending her flying down the first flight of steps.

With a cry and nothing to break her fall, Yukino toppled down the stairs, feeling the rough cement catch at her school uniform tearing it in several places. Her arms went up to shield her neck and head as the world went spinning out of control, her entire body throbbing, battered by the tumble and her skin on fire from being dragged down the sandpaper surface of the sidewalk.

Lokki stood at the top and watched her fall, waiting until she lay at the bottom, unmoving curled into a ball before he strode down the steps to where she lay, stunned. Crouching down, he pulled the Tama from her nerveless grasp, a satisfied expression on his face, and then his eyes slid back to Yukino who still lay there, her eyes staring sightlessly ahead, still gasping for breath.

Reaching out he hooked his hand in her elbow and pulled her ruthlessly to her feet, his arm going around her to bring her body closer to his. Yukino's efforts to protest were feeble, her endurance gone and her energy almost completely spent, and he laughed softly.

“Why did you run away, Sweetness?” he asked mockingly, “Don't you know I'd never use a knife on my girl?”

Taking advantage of her lack of energy, he reached out and raised her chin. Yukino looked up at him, her eyes defiant, but her body unable to fight him. With a small, smug smile, he lowered his head, moving with deliberate slowness to enjoy the look of resistance on her face before he finally kissed her. It was a hard, possessive kiss that left Yukino feeling nauseous and weak when it was over.

Disgusted, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and heard Lokki's low laugh as he watched her reaction.

“No matter what you might think, Sweetness, you are mine,” he told her. “I've taken a real liking to you. And once we get to where we need to be, I'll show you just how much.”

Then he started dragging her along the sidewalk, looking up and down the street as they went.

“W-where are we going?” Yukino wanted to know numbly, stumbling alongside him, her sore body protesting with every step.

“I'm not sure,” Lokki replied, and then held out his hand, the Tama glowing brightly within his fingers, `but this thing seems to know the way.”

Yukino's heart gave a lurch and she didn't say anything else. Her worst fear had come to pass; the seed inside the Forbidden Soul was blooming once again. Her only hope now lay with her brother.

 

Kagome emerged from the train station dressed in her best, dark blue business suit, a harried expression on her face as she looked at her watch. If she had known that there was going to be a rock concert downtown, then she wouldn't have bothered with the train. She would have caught a taxi instead. Now she only had a few minutes to spare before the dinner meeting was supposed to start and she was still about a block and a half away from the restaurant!

And she had so wanted to make a good first impression with Suketsune-sama! - er Shirogane - she thought in consternation as she scurried along the sidewalk. Suddenly, she heard the chirp of her cell phone, and she was forced to juggle her portfolio in order to get to her purse where her phone was was located.

Funny how it was never on top when she needed it, she thought with an ironic twist to her lips.

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to jam the portfolio tighter under her left arm when it kept wanting to slide free while she hastily dug through her purse, scattering some of its contents on the ground near her feet in the process.

Dangit! she thought in consternation, and then finally she found it.

Blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes in exasperation, she yanked her phone out from near the very bottom and looked at the screen, not surprised to see that it was Hojo.

“Where are you?” he immediately demanded.

“Not too far now,” she assured him, again absently tucking the sliding portfolio more securely, taken aback at how agitated he sounded.

It was very uncharacteristic.

“I've been expecting to see you all day - where have you been Kagome?” he asked in a distracted manner.

Kagome didn't know why, but the underlying tension in his voice sharply reminded her of the conversation that they'd had on the phone during last night's vicious thunderstorm, and a sense of unease began to fill her.

“I - I had some things to attend to at home,” she hedged warily, “one of the buildings inside our shrine compound caught fire last night, and I was trying to make sure that the repairs got started without any problems. I left a message with your secretary. Didn't she give it to you?”

“Yes, but I expected you to call back. You're message said you would,” Hojo replied, his tone slightly reproachful, again highly uncharacteristic.

“I'm really sorry,” Kagome was immediately contrite. “I did mean to, but I just got so caught up with the well, that I completely forgot -“

Perhaps that wasn't the best way to start the conversation knowing that Hojo had something serious on his mind, she mused as she toed the spilled items of her purse with her high heel pump. She tried to unobtrusively gather everything together in a small pile to keep them from getting kicked around, smiling politely at several people who shuffled passed her.

Maybe it would be best, she decided, if she tried to change to vein of the conversation to a more neutral topic. “I have been doing the last minute touch-ups like I promised I would, so not to worry! Everything is finished!”

“That's not why I was waiting to hear from you,” Hojo replied a little sharply, and Kagome tensed, relaxing again as he modified his tone, and continued, “but it doesn't matter now. I've waited this long, I guess I can wait a little longer. You're almost running late you know - but we're in luck because Shirogane has yet to arrive as well --”

Kagome was only listening with half an ear to what he said now, worrying more about recovering the contents of her purse and getting to the restaurant before Shirogane in order to salvage their first meeting. Hastily, she extended a warning finger toward the ground as pedestrians walked close to her little mine field of trinkets, but alas, it was too late with one well-dressed gentleman and she cringed as he stepped on her newest shade of Roulette Gypsy Red lipstick, crushing it completely.

Kagome gave a toothy grimace but said nothing as he walked away. She looked at the red smear of color on the pavement. It rather reminded her of the bright swath of color near sunrise earlier that morning, the one she had witnessed after a long sleepless night. She'd been the only one in her family to witness it too, for she'd arisen before anyone else, her sole purpose being to check on the well.

With the sun barely peeking above the horizon, blazing in that same Roulette Gypsy Red, she wryly recalled, she'd hurriedly shuffled herself into a worn pair of jeans and an old baggy sweatshirt and quietly made her way across the complex, slowing her pace the last few hundred yards as her eyes slid over the building's façade to try and prepare herself for the worst.

The outside building had been burned badly and the roof had partially collapsed into the interior. The air had hung heavy with the acrid smell of burnt timber and Kagome had stood for a long moment, her hand nervously toying with the collar to her sweatshirt before she mustered up enough courage to try to open the door and look inside.

There were broken roof tiles and fallen timbers everywhere, some of them still smoldering, and the wooden flooring and stairs leading to the center were gone as well so there was no easy way to get down to the bottom without making a jump. But she barely noticed this. Her brown eyes had immediately sought out the structure of the well itself, finding it amid the hazy smoke filled interior. Its stone outline had been reassuringly solid albeit sorely blackened.

Kagome had slumped down along the doorjamb, feeling suddenly weak at the knees. She'd been so worried that the well would not be there.

And yet she was still worried, she realized candidly. Worried that even though the well was still there, that perhaps the portal had been affected - but just how would she know if it had? she asked herself sharply. This was not like the old days when she had a Shikon shard and could freely come and go. Otherwise she would have already - Kagome reined in her traitorous thoughts, appalled at the direction they were taking.

Already what?

Already gone back?

Would she have already gone back?

Surely not!

Suddenly Kagome felt ill. All within the space of a few short hours, the tempo of her well ordered life had been shattered. The life that she thought she'd wanted, the future that she thought was so safe - it was being clouded by her feelings from the past, feelings that she thought she didn't want. She was so confused, as if her good sense had gone missing among the cinders of the smoldering timbers of the Hidden Well.

“Hojo, I'm almost there now,” she reiterated weakly, “just give me a few more minutes and I'll be there, okay?”

She hung up without saying goodbye, numbly dropping her phone back into her bag. What was she going to do? She thought, staring blindly down at her little pile of items. There wasn't anything she could do, was there?

“Kagome?” a voice hailed her from behind, and a chill shot her spine. Something about it was familiar.

Kagome turned and looked over her shoulder experiencing a moment of extreme shock, her heart skipping a beat. Behind her stood a man with the hair the color of moonlight. A small mysterious smile played about his lips as he gazed at her.

Inuyasha!?

A moment of pure, utter joy swept through her, and Kagome eagerly turned towards him, and then realized her error, her heart suddenly feeling like it had gone from feather light to stone heavy in the span of a few short seconds. This man was tall and slender with broad shoulder. He was well dressed in a dark suit, with a high, mandarin color under which he wore a white crisp shirt, the collar in the mandarin style as well. His hair, which had been what had startled her so at first because of its unusual silver color, was long, the feathered fringe over his brow framing his face attractively. He wore the rest of it pulled back in a thick braid, which trailed down his back, the end encased in a small fluted metallic fillet. Kagome couldn't tell the color of his eyes for he wore dark sunglasses; but the most important thing about him was his ears: they were human ears, in one of which he wore a single diamond solitaire.

“Here, let me help you with those” the stranger said, bending and scooping up her small pile of things, minus the lipstick, before handing them to her. As he continued to speak in his soft, smooth tenor, Kagome was still plagued with the nagging feeling of having heard his voice before, but she couldn't place it.

She murmured her thanks with a grateful smile, and then felt her face flame with color, when he said, “It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you in person, Kagome-sama. I'm Shirogane Suketsune. I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time.”

Kagome-sama? Why on earth had he called her that? He was addressing her the same way Miroku used to, like he thought of her as some great priestess…

Kagome blinked at him, not quite sure what to say, and then blinked again when he gave her a regretful smile and added, “But alas, I'm afraid that I have to cancel my plans for this evening. The alarm at my shrine has been tripped. I'm sure it's nothing, but I need to get back and make sure that everything is in order. I'm sure you understand.”

“Of course,” Kagome replied, not understanding at all and feeling a moment of pique. The delinquent priest had once again managed to evade a meeting with her - but at least she'd managed an introduction, she thought. Although, she wasn't sure she counted that as a bonus, since she found his presence extremely unsettling.

“You will, of course, inform Hojo for me?” Shirogane motioned gracefully in the direction of the restaurant, “and we can reschedule for the near future?” he asked suavely with a raised eyebrow.

“I'm certain that can be arranged,” Kagome agreed with a wan smile.

Then Shirogane took her hand and said, “I look forward to it, Kagome.”

At least he didn't call me Kagome-sama this time, she thought, uneasily.

Kagome made a noncommittal reply, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Shirogane held her hand for what seemed longer than necessary, giving her fingers a slight squeeze before letting go.

With a salute, he turned and sauntered away, and then Kagome too, after a moment of muddled contemplation, turned and moved in the other direction, towards the restaurant, but several times, she turned and looked back over her shoulder with a bemused expression.

Something about him reminded her of Inuyasha, and it was more than just the hair, she thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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